The present invention relates to a vase and to a method for making a display of horticultural items such as cut flowers or greenery.
Various types of vessels have been used to display horticultural items such as flowers to achieve pleasing, decorative effects. Indeed flower vases as a general matter have probably been known since prehistoric times. Other than providing a decorative appearance, a suitable flower vase should provide a basin for holding water or nutrients needed to maintain the flowers in an attractive condition and support their stems at a generally upstanding orientation. Nearly all of the conventional devices known to the inventor have achieved this support function by means of physical support elements other than the flowers to be supported. In other words, these devices have supported the flowers with the neck of the vase or an independent support element which is not a flower itself. Examples of such devices are shown in Schmidt German Pat. No. 478,221; Davidson British Pat. No. 344,022; Cheesewright U.S. Pat. No. 1,860,405; and Osterlund U.S. Pat. No. 2,050,893. Pearson U.S. Pat. No. 3,778,929 discloses a structure which prevents flowers from drooping by means of a collar which maintains the tops of the flowers within the periphery of the pot edge. In the Pearson structure, embedded roots retain the lower ends of the flower stems, and the adjacent stems are not connected to provide mutual support.